IMAGINE

You are sitting in a coffee shop in an airport. The shop is full of people, many of whom are very stressed and angry. You sense that they all have a story.

You finally find a table where there is one empty chair with three people already there. You ask them if you can sit down with them. None give a negative answer but they all seem absorbed in their own issues. You ponder a quick moment, no time to dawdle as the crowd is pressing in, and take the seat.

Everyone here has a story. You begin to listen and unintentionally become entwined in these stories.

The Pastor:
One man, a minister, is on his way to help a distant church deal with some issues. What the issues are is of little importance. You know, without understanding why, that it is appropriate for this man to go to that church. They need him, need his intellect, his vision, his wisdom and his unquestioned connection to God. Unfortunately he will not get to them this trip. An error in the airline’s procedures has made him lose his reservation and someone else got his seat on the plane. The church he needs to visit is too far for him to drive to and be back for other important events at his home congregation. There aren’t any other airlines that go near enough to be of any good. He sits in the coffee shop praying and conversing and regretting that he can’t help those who need him. Not because of his lack but because of nothing more than a quirk that was unexpected and therefore unplanned for.

The Soldier:
A young man in uniform is there as well. He too can’t get to his destination. His story is more emotional and seemingly more tragic, although there really isn’t anything he can do. A very close relative has passed away and this soldier needs to get home to help comfort the rest of the family. He is serving in a place of war but because his unit is not currently engaged in battle, he was granted a 5 day emergency leave to go home and be of comfort. The place of war is very distant so due to excessive travel time he would only have about 48 hours at home and this delay has meant that he won’t be able to get there at all probably. He sits considering his options and waits for time to make his final decision whether to proceed or return to his unit.

The weeping woman:
Here sits a woman in middle age. She weeps intermittently and silently. Far away, not terribly far, but too far for her to travel alone, a serious storm has taken away the home of one of her children. The family seems safe for the moment but a child is missing. A grandchild this woman has never seen, but loves instinctively. She has time to get there even with the delay, but time is really a serious issue. The stranded family has many needs and one of those needs is a strong loved one to lean upon. It will be days be for she can be that for them.

Yourself:
You yourself are stranded. None of you at this table are stranded for the same reason but all stranded just the same. You are a missionary on furlough from the foreign mission field. Things have not been bad, but under these circumstances you could easily see that many of the accomplishments you set out to conquer for this period could fall by the wayside. This is not a tragedy but your furlough time is not long and these were thing you’d planned years to be able to do. For the time being, at least this felt like a tragedy. Like the others you shared this much of your story.

Standing nearby was a man who overheard all of the stories and stood fumbling in his briefcase for something. An air of success came upon his face and he produced a few business cards and distributed them to all at your table. He then smiled and said that this might be the answer to all of your needs. Someone hailed him from the other end of the room and with a smile he waved and left to go to that person.

The card said:

You get out your cell phone and call the number, and then you pass the phone to each of the others. Within a matter of hours you are all on your way to your planned destination. Three planes showed up as you were mostly all headed in different directions. An older man, a young man, and a young woman are the pilots.

Before agreeing to fly with them each of the people needing help negotiated a price for this service. The price was a flat rate for all of them. $0.00 God had arranged for their transportation.

The Vision That I See
I wrote this in response to Matt’s recommendation to read Habakuk 2: 1-2 which says to write the vision so that others make take it and run with it.